Macron and Xi Jinping name for an Olympic truce in order that wars on the planet finish this summer season | International | EUROtoday

Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping joined forces this Monday to name for an “Olympic truce” to be utilized and all wars to stop in the course of the Paris Games this summer season. The French president and his Chinese counterpart, assembly within the French capital, needed to ship a message of concord initially of a two-day go to to France marked by variations over the conflict in Ukraine and commerce tensions between China and the European Union.

“An Olympic truce for all theaters of war,” Macron stated, “can be an occasion to work for a lasting solution in full respect of international law.” Xi agreed: “Today's world is far from calm. As a member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, China calls with France for a truce throughout the world on the occasion of the Paris Olympic Games.”

The Olympic Games can be held between July 26 and August 11, and the Paralympic Games, additionally in Paris, between August 28 and September 8. The UN General Assembly voted in September in favor of the truce with 118 votes in favor, none in opposition to and two abstentions (Russia and Syria). Other wars to which the truce might apply embody these in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

The head to head with Macron was for Xi the primary alternative to convey to him, from European soil, the imaginative and prescient of Russian aggression in opposition to Ukraine. The situation can be key, given the closeness between the Chinese chief and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who plans to go to Beijing in May.

Macron needed to persuade his visitor to make use of his affect in Moscow within the face of the conflict in Ukraine. And he congratulated himself, within the look with out questions on the finish of the conferences, for having obtained “the commitment of the Chinese authorities to refrain from selling weapons to Moscow and to strictly control the export of dual-use goods.” He was referring to technological materials that, though supposed for different functions, can be used within the navy business.

Xi rejects that his nation is recognized as being near a celebration to the battle. “We oppose this crisis being used to place responsibility on a third country, tarnish its image and try to start a new Cold War,” he stated in the identical look.

The Chinese chief seeks to domesticate his relations with a European chief who promotes the so-called strategic autonomy, an idea that Beijing interprets as a want to take care of a balanced place between his nation and the rival energy, the United States. In addition to France, the Chinese chief will go to Serbia and Hungary, the 2 European international locations closest to Beijing's orbit.

Trade occupied a part of Macron and Xi's bilateral conversations within the afternoon and each with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, within the morning. The Europeans are placing stress on the main buying and selling energy to “play fair” and stop, with its huge exports of electrical autos and different merchandise, the “deindustrialization” of Europe from accelerating.

“A China that plays fair is good for everyone,” Von der Leyen declared after the tripartite assembly. “At the same time, Europe will not hesitate to take tough decisions to protect its economy and security.”

Von der Leyen denounced that China “is flooding the European market” with “subsidized products” that don’t have any outlet in its inside market. “I have encouraged the Chinese government to resolve this excess capacity.”

“The call China's overcapacity problem “It does not exist either from the perspective of comparative advantage or in light of global demand,” Xi denied at the meeting. “China-EU cooperation is, in essence, complementary and mutually beneficial.”

The Chinese leader intends to convince the EU – with France at the helm – to reverse its “risk reduction” policy, which could limit the Asian giant's exports to the community bloc, especially in sectors linked to the transition. green, in which China has become a world leader.

In the statement with Xi, Macron welcomed the Chinese president's availability to review possible sanctions on French cognac in response to the European investigation into the Chinese electric car industry for state subsidies that could distort community competition. Among the gifts that the Frenchman formally gave to his counterpart were several bottles of this French brandy.

The first day will conclude with a state dinner at the Elysée, a less showy and significant space than the palace of Versailles, which hosted the state dinner in honor of King Charles III of England in September. Macron and Xi will travel on Tuesday, accompanied by his wife, to the Pyrenees and the port of Tourmalet, a picturesque landscape with cyclist resonances near the town where the French president's grandmother lived and where he spent time as a child. It is a more intimate setting, where a “frank and friendly dialogue” can be encouraged, according to an Elysée source.

The invitation issued by the Elysée is a part of the celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of the institution of diplomatic relations between each international locations, and responds to Macron's state go to to China a yr in the past. The president of the European Commission already accompanied the Frenchman on his go to to China in 2023. Macron has all the time needed to offer a European dimension to the connection with Beijing.

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